A deadly

tornado outbreak A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same Synoptic scale meteorology, synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least ...

struck portions of the southeastern

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on March 20, 1998. Particularly hard hit were rural areas outside of

Gainesville, Georgia Gainesville is a city and the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it has been calle ...

, where at least 12 people were killed in an early morning F3

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

. The entire outbreak killed 14 people and produced 12 tornadoes across three states with the town of Stoneville, North Carolina, being also hard hit by the storms.

Meteorological synopsis

Prior to March 20, several days of severe weather dumped heavy amounts of rain in the Southeast, particularly in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. On the day of the severe weather outbreak, temperatures were in the 40s across the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

and the North Carolina

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region, while temperatures in the 60s and 70s further south creating a sharp contrast between air masses across the Southeast. A strong storm cell moved across northern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

during the early morning hours. This

supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone, a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (su ...

produced the Gainesville area tornado, before producing scattered reports of large hail and high wind damage farther northeast in Appalachian North Carolina. As this first bout of severe weather slowly dissipated, a line of storms rapidly developed east of the mountains over the western

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

during the early afternoon. Moving into a warmer environment where CAPE values were high (over 1000 j/kg), the line of storms evolved into several

s, including two particularly prolific storms that moved across central and northern North Carolina from Charlotte to the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

border.

Confirmed tornadoes

Gainesville, Georgia

Touching down at around 6:25 AM EST in northwestern Hall County, this powerful pre-dawn F3 tornado traveled into southern White County, leaving a 13-mile long damage path through rural areas outside of

, before dissipating at around 6:40 EST. It heavily damaged Lanier Elementary School and unroofed North Hall High School, while damaging or destroying several businesses. The school system did not fully recover until the next fall. At North Hall, the gymnasium was used as a temporary classroom until the end of the school year, while students at Lanier were temporarily relocated in three other area schools that were not affected by the tornado.Pre-dawn Killer: The 1998 Tornado Remembered AccessNorthGa
/ref> About 40 homes were completely destroyed and another 130 were damaged to varying degrees. 45 mobile homes were also damaged or destroyed, with 11 of the fatalities who were inside those structures. The other fatality occurred when a tractor-trailer was carried by the funnel and slammed into a school bus, killing the driver. Eight chicken houses were also destroyed and about 100,000 chickens were killed. 40 cattle were also killed by the storm.
In addition to the 12 fatalities, over 150 people were injured. A police officer was also killed after being hit by a car while assisting a motorist who was involved in an accident during the storm. The fatality was not directly attributed to the tornado itself. Since recordkeeping began, this storm stands as the second deadliest Georgia tornado since 1950 and the deadliest since an F4 killed 18 on April 30, 1953, south of Macon. The damage figures were estimated at between $15 million and $20 million with the majority of the damage in Hall County. The immediate Gainesville area is no stranger to deadly tornadoes. It was the site of the fifth deadliest tornado in

history on April 6, 1936, during the Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak, where two tornadoes merged into a very large F4 killing 203 including 70 at the Cooper Pants Factory. The tornado occurred only 12 hours after an F5 struck

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 7th-most populous ...

, killing at least 216 (with others being unaccounted for), making it the fourth deadliest tornado on record including storms before 1950. Another

hit Gainesville in 1903 killing at least 100. The 1998 season, an

El Niño EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

year, had several deadly tornado outbreaks in addition to the Gainesville tornado including the Kissimmee Tornado Outbreak in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

on February 23, the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

on April 8, the Mississippi and Tennessee Valley outbreak on April 16 and the Spencer, South Dakota/Eastern tornado outbreak and

derecho A ''derecho'' (, from , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of Severe weather#Categories, severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system. Derechos cause Bea ...

on May 30–31.

Stoneville, North Carolina

At about 3:25 PM an F3 tornado developed about one mile southwest of Mayodan in

Rockingham County, North Carolina Rockingham County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 91,096. Its county seat is Wentworth, North Carolina, Wentworth. The county ...

, touching down in an open field near the Western Rockingham Middle School. The tornado then almost immediately struck Unifi Plant No. 5, a textile manufacturing complex, tearing the roof and wall off of one of its buildings. The tornado proceeded to destroy several homes, cause extensive damage to the West Side Baptist Church, and strike an apartment complex and an abandoned elementary school. Over 190 residences in Mayodan were damaged by the storm. The tornado proceeded past Mayodan, crossing the Mayo River and traveling several miles across forests and farmland. Between Mayodan and

U.S. Route 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways, which run east-west. US 220 extends for ...

it struck the home of farmer Powell Hickman, throwing him from his residence and killing him. At about 3:30 the tornado entered the town of Stoneville, North Carolina, traveling north along a rail line into the main business district along Henry Street. It caused extensive damage to commercial structures. Beth Mitchell, a national champion shag dancer, died when her car was thrown into a repair garage. At 3:49 the tornado, after traveling 12 miles, dissipated about three miles northwest of the town of Eden. A total of 500 to 600 residences were affected by the tornado, along with numerous businesses; while several vehicles (including a fire truck) were also tossed some distance. Canceled checks from Stoneville were found 53 miles away in Huddleston, Virginia, while other debris was found scattered in and around the Martinsville area. Total casualties amounted to two dead and 27 injured. The tornado was the strongest on-record to have ever struck Rockingham County.

References

External links